Jim Crowley-Halfback

*James H. "Jim" Crowley
*Born September 10, 1902 in Chicago, Illinois
*Raised in Wisconsin
*Nicknamed "Sleepy Jim" by Notre Dame coach Rockne because of his low-key demeanor and droopy eyelids
* Crowley outmaneuvered many a defender with his clever, shifty ballcarrying.
*During World War II Crowley served with the U.S. Navy in the South Pacific
*In 1953, after the stint with the Chicago team he left football behind moved to Scranton, Pennsylvania to take over as station manager and sports director of independent television station WTVU.
*Two years later, Crowley was named chairman of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission, a position he held until 1963.
* In the 1960s and 1970s Crowley was a much sought-after speaker at banquets and dinners.
*Crowley died in Scranton on January 15, 1986, aged 83.

*Football Career
* Crowley played high school football at East Green Bay High School, where he learned the sport from head coach Earl "Curly" Lambeau, the founder of the National Football League's Green Bay Packers.
*Graduated from high school in 1921, went on to play at Notre Dame
*Crowley placed as the left halfback for the four-back formation of the Four Horsemen
*Crowley's finest season with the Fighting Irish came in 1924, when he led the team in scoring and joined fellow Horsemen Layden and Stuhldreher on the All-American team
*Graduated from Notre Dame in 1925
*Crowley played in just three professional football games with the National Football League's Green Bay Packers and Providence Steamrollers
*Crowley stayed in football as an assistant coach at the University of Georgia
*Named head coach at Michigan State University in 1929. In four seasons Crowley's teams went 22-8-3
*Fordham University hired Crowley in 1933, taking him away from his coaching career at Michigan State.
*Crowley enjoyed tremendous success at Fordham by building one of the top defensive teams in the country
*Crowley left Fordham University after the 1942 Sugar Bowl, having compiled a record of 56-13-7 as the Rams' head coach
* In late 1944 he agreed to become the first commissioner of a new professional football league, the All-America Football Conference
*The league kicked off in 1946 and quickly became a formidable rival to the National Football League
*Following the 1946 season, Crowley stepped down as commissioner to become part-owner and coach of the AAFC's worst team, the Chicago Rockets
*Crowley's success as a college coach didn't translate to the pros. The Rockets went just 1-13 in 1947
*Crowley quit his dual role with the team before the 1948 season
* Named to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1966